Tuesday, February 26, 2008

So it sounds pretty sure that Richard's unit will be deploying sometime between July and August of 2008. That means if we were to get pregnant any time between now and then, he will not be around for the birth and potentially the whole first year of our baby's life! :( That sounds awful and it makes me want to wait until we know he'll be "home" for a longer stretch of time... so right now we're seeking God's will as to whether we should start using birth control again or just stop worrying about it and let it happen if that's His plan.

We arrived at Fort Riley, Kansas on November 5 and started getting deeper into the Army learning process. After about two and a half weeks of hotel living we moved on post and began really settling in. Richard got into his job as a platoon leader and soon found out his unit would be deploying to Iraq sometime towards the end of 2008. At this point we still (most likely) had at least 9 months for him to be around so we were still okay with the possibility of pregnancy. At the same time it was pretty emotional for me thinking that Richard has never held a baby, changed a diaper or any of that stuff... and I really wanted him to be around for the birth, first year, etc. of our first child! It has been stressful relocating, leaving our families, making new friends, finding a church, learning the ropes of the Army, and more...

September 2007After much prayer, discussion, and financial and emotional evaluating, Richard and I decided we were ready to make a human addition to our little family. At the time, Richard was in Virginia for training and wouldn't be home until mid-October, but I stopped taking my birth control and started preparing my body and mind to take on the challenge of pregnancy... whenever God allows it to happen. :) Richard is so cute about all this because he's excited about being a dad but also seems a little nervous about his lack of experience with babies. I know he'll be an awesome dad! :)